1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rotary ground-driven or powered tillage farming equipment. Such tillage equipment is particularly useful in conjunction with row crop planters and/or so called rotary hoes. More specifically, this invention relates to maintaining debris free straight or inclined pointedly toothed wheels mounted on a row planter unit or tillage equipment. In the specific application described here, the toothed wheel was utilized with a planting device.
Historically, farmers have relied upon conventional or deep tilling to prepare their fields for planting. A system known as no-till or low-till has recently emerged, whereby fields are not deep plowed but are tilled at a shallower depth by rotary hoe or tillage devices or the planter itself may be modified to open a furrow of predetermined depth in unplowed ground and plant the seeds in the furrow. In the later instance, the residue left behind from harvesting poses a problem for accurate planting but the residue is also useful in minimizing soil erosion either from wind and/or rain.
The mulched residue has an undesirable effect on planting because if not cleared ahead of the row unit of the planter the residue can result in inaccurate planting depth. This occurs because concentrations of mulch may vary the depth setting of the planter relative to the ground. The mulch when being cleared can also affect the row cleaning effort by filling the area between the teeth of the row cleaner, thus hindering proper row cleaning.
2) Related Art
The prior art likewise reflects a number of tillers or cultivators not related to planters employing rotating tined wheels. An example thereof may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,907, issued to Shuring, et al., 9/71. These prior art devices are designed and used for deeper tillage or cultivation of the soil and also have at least as great a problem with the accumulation of mulch, rocks and/or dirt between the teeth when operating in relatively wet soil. The equipment may also be operated in dry soil, in which case applicant's present invention may or may not be required depending upon the conditions, including soil structure, moisture and debris.